This week I have been doing some research on the topic of Augmented Reality (AR), as I have been set an assignment to create my own AR sketch/prototype for a project at my university. Augmented reality, by definition means; using technology that superimposes a digital computer generated image onto a users view of the real world. With that in mind, I feel that researching various practitioners as well as studying alternative methods for implementing AR will broaden my understanding of the subject further.
AR has been around for sometime but only now are we just beginning to harness the power of such a tool. Companies/businesses such as; Audi, Nike and LG have all used a particular form of spatial AR, project mapping, to maximize advertising publicity. The video below illustrates an advertisement campaign for a film released in 2010 – The Tourist.
As great as project mapping is in terms of grabbing the public’s attention, it relies on expense, powerful projectors to produce the images and it is imposing on the viewer. More recently, the next generation of AR is starting to emerge. The use of portable devices to implement an alternative method of projection in the form of a camera overlay.
Below is video from a developer in the AR industry – Matt Mills
I Found this piece of research particular useful. Setting a target image, as a trigger to implement an AR sketch. An example would be taking a set of images around a monument (covering 360 degrees), then, whilst cycling through an image array, a user would be able to hold a portable device, at almost an angle, around that specific object, and AR could be displayed as a camera overlay showing information. In addition, this has led me onto thinking about the AR objects themselves?!
AR used within a project could be; text, a person, vehicle, or moving graphics. The uses for this are endless, as are the different ways to ‘trigger’ the running of an AR sketch. Here are a few examples:-
- Translation tools: having an image of a foreign language, then an overlay is displayed with the translated language – the default language set on your portable device possibly.
- Games: the virtual environments are presented directly onto ‘desk top’ literally, or force you to be active within your environment (an expansion from Xbox Kinect) creating an immersive environment.
- Education: Biology, mechanics, architecture, construction – all represented in interactive 3d AR to make instructions easier.
- Advertisement – from a commercial point of view this will almost certainly open up a whole new advertising market world wide. Imagine walking down a road and an image for a big brand company is on a billboard. Now imagine if a video then plays an AR sketch about that particular product.
- Navigation: Using arrow overlays in real-time to display a direction from point A to point B. This could be extended with integration of Indoor Positioning System (IPS) working in conjunction with Global Positioning System (GPS) to take you to a specific room in a unknown building from your doorstep.
As devices become more high-tech and the Internet of Things (I.O.T.) starts to expand, it is not hard to imagine that with such products like digital glasses (Google glasses) coming out of their infancy phase and becoming more mainstream, you could essentially walk around with a head-up display (HUD) everywhere you go. The video below illustrates, in my opinion, the very beginning in the quest for seamless living and AR possibilities.
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